Gasoline register



March 1l 1924.

H. G. LEE

GASOLINE REGISTER l Filed Aug. 5, 1922 @not M11 Patented Mer. 11, 1924.

UNITED- STATES PATENT oFFi'cE.

HARRY G. LEE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRD TO WILSON E. PORTER, 0F NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, AND ONE-THIRD TO RICHARD H. WHITEHEAD, 0F

NEW YORK, N. Y.

GASOLINE REGISTER.

Application led August 1922. Serial No. 579,315.

To all whom t may concem.'

Be it known that I, HARRY G. LEE, a cit1- zen of the United States, residing at New `York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented new and useful Im rovements in Gasoline Registers, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a gasoline register.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, practical and efficient gasoline register of inexpensive construction adapted to be readily applied to a dash board of an automobile or other motor vehicle to operate with the vacuum system of a car and capable of being actuated by the pulsations of the vacuum system in the fillin of the vacuum tank thereof and of registering the amount of gasoline in the main gasoline tank and of indicating the consumption of the gasoline so that the operator may readily ascertain by a glance at the gasoline register the quantity of gasoline within the said main gasoline tank.

A further object of the invention is to provide a gasoline register of this character equipped with a rotary dial adapted to be readily Set to correctly indicate t e amount of gasoline in the tank after the same has been supplied with a quantity of gasoline so that the main gasoline tank may be supplied from time to time with gasoline and the register set to corres ond with the quantity of gasoline within the tank after each filling operation.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination'and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without defparting from the s irit or sacrificing any o the advantages o the invention.

In the drawings, in which like characters of reference deslgnate corresponding parts in the several views Figure 1 is a front elevation of a gasoline register constructed in accordance with this lnventlon.

Figure 2 is a similar view, the metal glass face plate and the rotary dial being removed to show the operating mechanism for actuating the dial.

Figure 3 is a central vertical sectional view of the gasoline register.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 designates a substantially cylindrical case constructed' of sheet metal or other suitable material and provided with an lnner or rear wall 2 and open at the front and having an annular flange 3 thereat. The case 1 is also provided at the inner periphery of the rim with an annular recess 4 adapted to receive a stationary metal face plate 5 and a stationary glass face plate 6, which are secured in the recess by a nickeled rim 7 but the rim may be finished in any other desired manner, as may be readily understood. The rim is secured to the flange 3 by screws 8 or other suitable fastening devices which are also adapted to fasten the device to the dash board of an automobile or at any other desired point on the same. The stationary metallic face plate is provided at the top with a side open1ng9 through which numerals 10 of a rotary dial 11 are exposed for indicating the amount of gasoline within the main tank of the automobile. The dial 11 is rotated counter-clockwise, as viewed from the front, so that the numerals exposed at the side opening 9 successively decrease in value with the movements of thedial which is rotated by a step by step backward movement by the vmechanism hereinafter described.

The rotary dial is mounted on a central shaft 12 journaled in suitable bearings of a frame 13 which is secured within the case 1 by screws 14, or other suitable fastening devices and the Said central shaft 12 is provided at its front or outer end with a knob or button 15 having knurled or checkered periphery to enable it to be readily grasped for` rotating it by hand to set the dial so that the number exposed at the side opening 9 will corres ond with the number of gallons of gasoline within the main tank of the system after the Said tank has been supplied or refilled with gasoline. By this means the dial may be readily re-set after each filling operation to indicate the number of gallons of gasoline within the main tank of the system.

The dial 11 is mounted on a collar or sleeve 16, which is arranged on and carried by the central shaft 12. The sleeve 16, which is located in front of the frame 13 also carries a gear wheel 17 which meshes with a spur pinion 18 suitably fixed to a lower shaft 19. The frame 13 consists of spaced front and rear portions and a connecting bottom portion and it is provided at the upper end of its rear portion with a for wardly extending arm or portion. The front portion terminates a short distance above the central shaft, as shown. The lower shaft has mounted on it a ratchet wheel 2O located between the front and rear portions of the frame and engaged by a spring controlled check pawl 21 and actuating pawl or member 22. The check pawl is pivoted at23 to a bracket or arm 2a extending laterally from one side of the front portion of the frame. The pivot 23 is located intermediate of the ends of the check pawl and the spring 25, which controls the check pawl is secured to one end of the same and to the outer portion of the arm or bracket 24, while the other end of the check pawl engages the ratchet wheel 20. This check pawl prevents retrograde rotation of the ratchet wheel and hence a positive forward action of the ratchet wheel by the actuating pawl or member 22. The actuating pawl or member 22, which extends upwardly from the ratchet wheel, is provided at its lower end with a bifurcated tooth or engaging portion 26 which straddles the ratchet wheel and engages the teeth thereof and rotates the ratchet wheel the distance of one tooth at each pulsation of the vacuum tank of the vacuum system of the automobile. The actuating awl or member, which is preferably provi ed with spaced lugs 27 at its intermediate portion, is secured at its upper end at 28 to a loose diaphragm 29 of a vacuum cup 30, which is secured in an inverted position by suitable fastening devices 31 to the top portion or arm of the frame, as clearly shownin Figure 3 of the drawings. The lugs are located above and below the central shaft and limit the movement of the actuating pawl or member 22 and thereby prevent undue strain on the diaphragm 29, which is designed to be constructed of silk or anyT other suitable material and which extends over the open and lower face of the vacuum cup 30. The vacuum cup 30 communicates at its rear side to a nipple or short tube 32, extending through the case and the frame and provided at its inner end with a reduced portion 33, which projects into the cup and forms a shoulder to abut against the same. The outer portion of the nipple or tube 32 is tapered and threaded and is adapted to be connected by an ordinary copper tube with the gasoline pipe of the vacuum system at a point between the main tank and the vacuum cup, so that at each filling of the vacuum tank of the system b the suction caused by the engine the diapliragm 29 will be lifted and wi 1 carry with it the actuating pawl or member 22 and rotate the ratchet wheel the distance of one tooth or a plurality of teeth as desired to produce a step by step rotary movement of the ratchet wheel and the dial, which is connected by the spur gearing with the shaft on which the ratchet wheel is mounted. As soon as the vacuum tank of the system fills the gasoline within the gasoline pipe of the vacuum system drains back into' the main tank and the suction is broken. The diaphragm and the actuating pawl or member are then positivelymoved to their outward or downward position by means of a coiled spring 34 connected with the actuat ing pawl or member 22 and with the frame, as shown. The downward movement of the actuating pawl or dog is limited by the upper lug 27 and the upward movement of the diaphragm and the actuating pawl or member 22 is limited b the lower lug, the up er lu being adapte to .rest upon the centra sha t while the lower lug abuts against the under side of the central shaft.

A felt washer 35 is arranged at the outer end of the shaft between the glass face plate and the knob or button 15 for excluding dust and moisture from the interior of the case.

What is claimed is:

1. In a gasoline register of the character described, a casing, a frame mounted in the casing, a vacuum cup suspended from the upper portion of the frame and having a movable diaphra m across its lower side, a shaft journale in the'casing centrally thereof, a rotary indicating device mounted on the shaft, a second shaft in the casing below the aforesaid shaft, a ratchet wheel on the second shaft, a gear mechanism disposed in front of the ratchet wheel and connecting said shafts, and an actuating pawl suspended from the diaphragm and arranged to engage said ratchet wheel to roduce a step by step rotary movement to t e ratchet wheel and to thereb rotate said shafts to actuate the rotary in icating device, the said actuating pawl being provided with spaced stops located one above and one below the first mentioned shaft for engagement interchangeably with the shaft to limit movements of the actuating pawl.

2. In a gasoline register of the character described, a casing, a vacuum cup located in the upper portion of the casing and having a movable dia-phra across its lower side, a shaft journaled 1n the casing, a dial secured to the shaft, a second shaft journaled in the casing, a ratchet wheel on the Sec- 5 ond shaft, gears connectiong the shafts, and an actuating pawl suspended from said s diaphragm and arranged to straddle and engage the ratchet wheel to prodnce a ste by In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HARRY G. LEE. 

